Let Us Introduce Our First Male Therapist!

It’s no secret that we like to shout from the rooftops about how wonderful our therapists are, and this new addition to our team is no exception. Without further ado, we’d like to introduce you to the fabulous Steve Pettitt, our first male therapist ever!

Steve is one of our Suffolk therapists covering events there, and being a specialist in Indian Head massage, deep tissue massage and facials, he’s proving to be a popular member of the team. As one of our guests Gemma wrote recently, “Steve was brilliant and very professional throughout, making the whole experience even more relaxing. Would highly recommend him!”

Having Steve on our team means we can offer guests a greater choice of options whilst designing their perfect treatment day, and so far, many of our guests are happy to have treatments with a male therapist. It also eliminates the “will a female be strong enough to massage me” question we often get asked by our larger clients or male guests (although massage isn’t about strength but more about leverage and using the body in the right way).

However, it goes without saying; there are more female therapists in our industry than there are men. Let’s face it, massage is an intimate thing. You’re usually partially clothed with someone is rubbing oil all over you. Statistically, women (majority of our client base) feel more comfortable having a female therapist tend to them, whether this be due to health and long term illness issues (hair loss, dry skin, weight) or body insecurities, and naturally on balance, women are the more tactile nurturers of the Hunter/Gatherer roles. But times are changing, men are taking on more of a caring role in the family, and women are choosing to work more demanding roles in the workplace. Isn’t it time we saw more male therapists in this industry? Spas are already starting to bustle with male therapists so we thought it was time we joined in!

So to celebrate this moment, Steve has very kindly put some words together about his experiences in working with MPS…. Enjoy!

“I have been working with My Personal Sanctuary for a couple of months. I was both grateful and excited to be the first male therapist with MPS, and I am looking forward to meeting other therapists in the region. From registering an interest in working on a booking on the therapist diary to providing the treatments, I have found the procedure runs smoothly and it’s easy to understand. I have had the good fortune to work with two wonderful ladies in Norfolk so far, Rose Haynes and Kirsty Minors. Both ladies are a credit to themselves and to MPS, providing a very professional image and service.

The staff at Thorpe Forest Holidays have been very helpful in assisting me in settling down into the role and in finding the guests for me.

The treatments I provide are carried out to a high standard using Neal’s Yard products, and my guests can have the assurance that I am not only trained to carry out the treatments, but I also have an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate.

I have found working with My Personal Sanctuary very enjoyable, and they have a dedicated and professional team working for them, from the management in Cheshire, to the therapists providing the treatments. I am looking forward to working further with MPS and providing the best service that the guests should expect.”

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About The Author

Having previously worked as a location film director for ITV and later as a consultant in legal recruitment, Charlotte looks after the creative, copy and brand management side of things, from photoshoots to internal and external literature, promotional copy, and client and therapist correspondence. Charlotte is a lover of all things food and travel, and spends a lot of her spare time cooking with her girls or planning the next place to explore … Once the kids are in bed, Charlotte can be found cuddling up in front of the log fire with a good book and glass of wine.

Rest breaks at work.

Here at MPS we understand that your work can be physically demanding so we offer the following break allowance, all of theses are calculated into your schedules. If you require additional unpaid breaks please contact the events team on 01625 540557 in plenty of time prior to the event.

Over 3 hours – 1 x 10 mins

5 hours – 2 x 10 mins

Hen Party @ ....

Working on Your Own

If you’re a mobile therapist, remember to let a friend or relative know where you’re going, especially if you’re visiting a new client. You may want to use a simple ‘call in’ system.

For safety we ask that you text our office on tel:+447520 615 233 upon arrival.

Here are some basic pointers to help you when working with essential oils:

• Make sure you’re trained to handle oils safely, for example, getting mixing ratios right – this should have been covered under your original professional training
• Treat your clients in a well ventilated room
• Make sure clients aren’t allergic to the oil you plan to use – carry out a patch test on new clients or when using a new product
• Store essential oils in airtight sealed containers and a cool, well ventilated place
• Keep oils out of reach of children, if they may be around
• Don’t leave essential oils near sources of heat or flame
• Wear gloves when prepping and mixing oils – this will cut down the time you’re in contact with them, and reduce the chance of getting occupational dermatitis.

• Wash hands thoroughly before and after each service as well as before eating and after handling products
• Keep containers tightly closed when they’re not being used
• Keep products in their original containers where possible
• Make sure any decanted products are clearly labelled
• Store all products properly – follow the guidance on the safety datasheets from your supplier. Make sure you store flammable products like wax-cleaning solvents out of direct sunlight and at room temperature or below.

You may lift and move around couches, trolleys and various bits of equipment. If you’re working as a mobile therapist then you’ll probably be doing this day in, day out. If you don’t lift and move things properly, you could suffer back pains, as well as sprains and strains in other parts of your body. Remember that if you get a more serious injury, it could put you out of work for a while.

To cut the risks of getting injured down:
• Work out the tasks that could lead to an injury
• Try to avoid manual tasks that pose more of a risk – for example, use a trolley to move therapy equipment instead of carrying boxes or cases around
• Assess the task you need to do and think about the type of load (eg is it difficult to grip?), the environment (eg is it in a tight space?) and your capabilities (eg do you have a back problem already?)
• Make sure that you cut down the risk of injuring yourself as much as possible, for example by buying a lightweight portable massage table

Our work means that there’s a risk of infections being passed between you and your clients. Treatments such as acupuncture, aromatherapy and reflexology may lead to infection through, for example, broken skin or contaminated equipment. As a result, you – or your clients – may come into contact with infectious materials and viruses such as HIV or Hepatitis B or C.

It’s critical that you take steps to avoid these risks:
• Keep nails short and long hair tied back
• Take off any jewellery (including your watch) before treating a client as it can harbour germs and could catch or
cut your client’s skin
• Protect yourself and your clothes by wearing a uniform or apron and think about wearing gloves if you have any
cuts or sores on your hands, or you’re doing abrasive work such as exfoliations wash your hands before and after
the start of any treatment – use anti-bacterial soap
• Keep your treatment area and equipment clean – for example, clean and disinfect anything your clients have direct
contact with at least once a day, and replace used towels and paper covers on your treatment table after each
client
• Look out for signs of athlete’s foot or verrucas before you start treating a client – if you do see any evidence
of these highly contagious viruses and fungal infections, you may not want to carry out the treatment until the
client’s GP confirms that there’s no longer a risk of crossinfection. Remember that it’s not just you who could
get infected, but your other clients too
• Cover any open boils, cuts, sores and wounds using a waterproof dressing
• Use disposable surgical gloves if you have a skin condition like eczema, and the skin is damaged
• Never eat or drink in working areas.
• If your work involves handling ‘sharps’ (including needles, scissors, blades or tweezers) for day-today
activities like skin piercing and acupuncture, it may be worth getting immunised to protect against diseases like
Hepatitis B.

It’s not surprising that with all the repetitive treatments you do, and a lot of standing, you may get a few aches and pains from time to time. You may find that your wrists, hands, arms, neck, shoulders or back are affected. A few simple steps will help to avoid the odd pain developing into a longer term problem known as a ‘repetitive strain injury’ – these can happen if you’re repeating one action too frequently, you do the same task for long stretches of time without taking enough breaks, and when you exert a lot of force in the task, for example when you’re massaging

You should:
• Use a height-adjustable therapy couch
• Use a saddle stool rather than a standard one – they cut down stress on your legs and back, but still allow you to balance well, stand up quickly and move about easily
• Take regular breaks
• Use massage tools, such as rollers, and ‘hands-free’ techniques, using hot stones, or your elbows and forearms, where possible
• Vary the types of appointment you handle in a day (MPS consider this when putting schedules together but will be naturally unaware of your other work commitments, so please let us know if there are any issues)
• Find out about the best posture to use when working.